Ex-Buc McCants arrested in Pasco

Keith McCants played only three years with the Bucs after signing a $7.4 million rookie contract in 1990. TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO

TBO.com staff

Published: May 30, 2014

Updated: May 30, 2014 at 08:33 AM

Keith McCants

Keith McCants, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ first-round pick in 1990, was back in jail Thursday, arrested in New Port Richey on charges of driving without a license and possessing drug paraphernalia.

McCants, 46, who lives in Spring Hill, was arrested by Port Richey police just after midnight, according to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. He was being held without bail.

Since 2002, McCants has had at least 12 arrests on charges of possessing drugs or drug paraphernalia and three convictions. In February, authorities in his hometown of Mobile, Alabama, said he was arrested there after failing to show for a court-ordered appearance.

McCants, was profiled in the 2012 ESPN documentary “Broke,” which looked at athletes who went bankrupt after their playing careers. In it, McCants revealed that he viewed becoming a millionaire at age 22 as a huge burden and led to him becoming an addict.

As a Bucs rookie in 1990, McCants signed a $7.4 million contract and the largest signing bonus ever given a rookie defender. McCants was a disappointment on the field, lasting only three seasons with the Bucs, then retiring after three more seasons.

In 2011, McCants told The Tampa Tribune he was in constant physical agony because of football injuries. He walked with a cane, and said he was diagnosed with clinical depression and early stages of dementia. He said football injuries caused an addiction to painkillers, which he said led to cocaine use, but was in a drug rehab program.

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